COVID-19 and Human Rights: Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve into a protracted public health crisis. This event will bringing together several experts from across the globe to discuss: what governments and policymakers could be doing better, “pandemic fatigue” and the window for structural reforms, plus, what advocates and other actors are doing to tackle pandemic related injustices. 

This event is a part of an ongoing webinar series. Moderation is by Morten Kjaerum, Martha Davis, and Amanda Lyons, based on contributions from the new book: COVID-19 and Human Rights. Check out the recordings of our previous webinars on COVID-19, poverty, and human rights, co-hosted with the Raoul Wallenberg Institute and Northeastern University School of Law. 

Expert panelists:

Balakrishnan Rajagopal, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing

Balakrishnan Rajagopal is the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing. He is Associate Professor of Law and Development at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). There he founded the Program on Human Rights and Justice and the Displacement Research and Action Network. He is a lawyer by training, and an expert on many areas of human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, the UN system, and the human rights challenges posed by development activities.

Pedi Obani, University of Leeds (human rights to water and sanitation)

Pedi Obani is Assistant Professor at the University of Bradford School of Law and Visiting Researcher in Water Security, Policy, and Governance at the University of Leeds. She is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court in Nigeria. She was previously a senior lecturer in the Department of Jurisprudence and International Law, University of Benin and has worked with a wide range of actors on sustainability, human rights, and gender inclusiveness.

Sanchita Banerjee Saxena, University of California - Berkeley (global supply chains)

Sanchita Banerjee Saxena is the Executive Director of the Institute for South Asia Studies and the Director of the Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies at UC Berkeley. She is the editor of Labor, Global Supply  Chains,  and  the  Garment  Industry  in  South  Asia:  Bangladesh  after  Rana  Plaza (2019) and author of Made in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka: The Labor Behind the Global Garments and Textiles Industries (2014).
 

Ana Maria Suarez, UN Representative for FIAN (human right to food)

Ana María Suárez Franco is  the  permanent  representative  to  the  UN  in  Geneva  for  FIAN  International.  She works closely with communities affected by violations of the right to food and has coordinated FIAN’s COVID- related work. Ana María is also a leading member of the ETO Consortium, centered on the Maastricht Principles on the Extraterritorial Obligations of States in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.